Friday Scientific Workshops

Applications for Friday Scientific Workshops at the 2019 ASH Annual Meeting are now open.

The Friday Scientific Workshops are interactive discussions of the latest scientific developments in a particular field of hematology. The 2019 workshops will take place Friday, December 6, 2019, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in Orlando, FL.

All registered ASH annual meeting attendees are welcome to attend these workshops. There is no additional fee to attend.

Detailed program information from the 2018 Friday Scientific Workshops can be found below.

As the number of older patients with hematologic disorders dramatically increases, large evidence gaps have become apparent. It is crucial to understand the implications of aging on the development, progression, and treatment of hematologic disorders.

The target audience for this workshop includes laboratory-based investigators and clinician researchers with an interest in aging and hematology. However, the wide-ranging content, thematic focus, and interactive format may appeal to a broader audience, including students and trainees.

Workshop Objectives

Provide a forum for presentation of novel research related to the biology of aging and hematologic disorders

Promote discussion around key items of a newly defined research agenda and call to action, which are based on the past four years of this workshop and were recently published in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology (Rosko et al, 2018)

Highlight the areas of overlap and alignment between the hematology and aging research agenda and the ASH Agenda for Hematology Research, including stem cell biology, immunotherapy, and precision medicine

Wokshop Schedule

Opening Remarks

Co-Chairs:

Sickle Cell Disease in the Aging Individual

1:05 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.

As care for sickle cell patients continue to improve, we expect the lifespan of the patients to be extended. This will mean caring for sickle cell patients during their geriatric years. This topic on how to properly care for sickle cell patients as they age has been an area on discussion for many years. We will present expert opinions on this matter in an effort to improve the understanding of this unique population.
Dr. Brandon Blue, will be the moderator for the Sickle Cell Disease in the Aging Individual session.
Dr. Swee Lay Thien,Dr. John Strouse, and Dr. Payal Desai will discuss various components of caring for aging sickle cell patients.
We will conclude the session with discussion from the audience.

Panel Discussion/Questions

1:50 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Dr. Strouse will describe their on-going study of brief geriatric assessment and resilience in older adults with sickle cell disease.
Dr. Schamess will describe a new home-based primary care initiative for adults with sickle cell disease at The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute at the Ohio State University.

Panel Discussion/Questions

5:25 p.m. - 5:40 p.m.

Dr. Rosko will describe the clinical and biologic approach to aging in older adults with multiple myeloma. She will outline a clinical phenotype describing established metrics in the field of geriatric oncology and explore biologic correlates of aging to aid in treatment stratification for older adults with cancer.

Friday Scientific Workshop on Inherited Hematopoietic Malignancies

The importance of identifying individuals with germline mutations in genes predisposing to the development of hematopoietic malignancies is increasingly recognized across all age groups. The World Health Organization's revised leukemia classification scheme now includes a provisional category for genetic disorders with risk for myeloid malignancies. In addition to discussing ongoing research efforts in predisposition syndromes, this workshop will address topics on interdisciplinary approaches in establishing a predisposition clinic. The workshop will also feature discussions about ASH's partnership with the Clinical Genome Resource, which will result in consensus-driven collation of variants in genes associated with inherited risk for myeloid malignancies.

Given the expanding role of this topic for clinicians, geneticists, and scientists, the increasing number of recognized syndromes, and the existence of new initiatives, this workshop will appeal to a multidisciplinary audience from many countries.

Workshop Objectives

To discuss on-going research efforts in specific predisposition syndromes

To strengthen existing and to develop new collaborations in these diseases

To discuss interesting pedigrees that have tested negative for all known predisposition alleles to date and to combine pedigrees with similar phenotypes

To inform ASH members who are clinicians about these predisposition syndromes and provide contacts to facilitate testing and expand research

Wokshop Schedule

Opening Remarks

Co-Chairs:

Establishing a Hematopoietic Predisposition Clinic

1:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

This session is meant as a practical guide for attendants as they prepare to implement genetic counseling and testing locally. It will involve specialists from several centers so that the audience can compare and learn about required infrastructure and anticipated problems while establishing a predisposition clinic. The session will include various types of practitioners, e.g., genetic counselor, nurse practitioner, pediatric hematologist/oncologist, adult hematologist/oncologist.

Speakers:

Anna L. Brown, PhD,BScCentre For Cancer Biology, SA Pathology/IMVSAdelaide, SA, AustraliaDevelopment of a Data Portal for Aggregation and Analysis of Genomics Data in Familial Platelet Disorder with Predisposition to Myeloid Malignancy- the RUNX1.db

Ethical Discussion Surrounding Testing

4:30 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

This session will cover ethical considerations regarding the benefits and challenges surrounding genetic testing of patients, stem cell transplant donors and carriers. It will also address different genetic testing practices and possible solutions to support the best interest of patients and family members with inherited predisposition to hematologic malignancies.

Epidemiologic research is of increasing importance in the era of large-scale genomics and databases, where large numbers of patients must be accumulated to study subtle individual effects that translate into large population effects. Population studies can identify risk predictors for disease, progression, and outcome, which may have a substantial impact on treatment decisions (risk stratification) and prevention. This workshop will provide a forum for epidemiologists working on hematologic neoplasms to present timely research topics from big data to molecular studies (DNA methylation, biomarkers, germline/tumor genetics, microbiome, etc.) applied to large populations. The workshop will address fundamental questions regarding the development and prevention of hematologic malignancies in populations with an emphasis on translational potential. In addition, this workshop will provide an opportunity for basic scientists to present work that could be applied to large-scale population studies, translating from the bench to the real-world population.

This workshop is directed at epidemiologists focused on hematologic neoplasms as well as basic and clinical scientists interested in real-world population applications of their findings. The workshop will also appeal strongly to trainees in clinical hematology-oncology who are interested in expanding their careers to include an epidemiologic focus.

Workshop Objectives

To provide a unique forum at the ASH annual meeting to discuss and present advances in the field of epidemiology of hematologic malignancies

To extend novel observations generated from epidemiology studies to translational studies with direct clinical relevance and to provide an opportunity to integrate new molecular or bench findings into population studies

To develop a roadmap and future directions that advance the study of epidemiology, particularly including prevention strategies for lymphoid and myeloid malignancy and associated diseases

To establish a forum that enhances current collaborations, develops new collaborations, and provides opportunities for career development and research for trainees and junior investigators in the field of epidemiology of hematologic malignancy

The workshop will be comprised of two consecutive sessions, each with eight speakers giving focused, 10- to 15-minute, cutting-edge presentations on the clinical and molecular epidemiology of hematologic malignancy. The presentations will include audience/attendee interaction and discussion, followed by a panel discussion at the end of each session to generate collaboration and translation.

Wokshop Schedule

Opening Remarks

1:00 p.m. - 1:10 p.m.

Co-Chairs:

James M. Foran, MDMayo Clinic FloridaJacksonville, FL

Wendy Cozen, DO,MPHUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA

New Findings from Population Studies of B-Cell Lymphoproliferative Disorders

Friday Scientific Workshop on Myeloid Development

This workshop will examine the latest scientific findings in myeloid biology in a highly interactive environment that permits exchange of ideas among investigators. The workshop will focus on topics such as hematopoietic stem cell biology, leukemogenesis, cell signaling, transcription factors, epigenetic effects, and other topics related to myeloid biology. Each session leader will briefly summarize the current questions facing the field and then lead discussions on how best to answer those questions. New findings or novel techniques that provide insight into these questions will be an essential part of all discussions. The research presented at this workshop will also focus on the use of molecular biology and biochemistry tools, as well as animal models, to address the core topics; it will not include any purely clinical, epidemiologic, or population-based approaches.

This workshop is directed at laboratory-based investigators, but the broad-ranging content and highly interactive format is suitable for clinically oriented investigators and is particularly appealing to young investigators, as it provides the opportunity to interact directly with experts in the field.

The area of immunotherapy in lymphoid malignancies has exploded in recent years. Multiple new immune therapies are in development in lymphoproliferative diseases, and this exciting progress has been due to an increased understanding of the tumor microenvironment and tumor-immune interactions in these diseases. This proliferation of scientific knowledge has led to multiple potential new treatments, including new immune checkpoint blockade therapies, novel T-cell approaches, agents targeting monocytes, and macrophages, as well as new approaches inhibiting immune receptors and cytokine signaling.

The target audience for this workshop is laboratory-based investigators who are interested in myeloid biology. The workshop’s presentations and discussions focus solely on the basic science of myeloid development; there are no presentations on clinical/treatment strategies. Attendees benefit from interactive presentations by world-class scientists. The workshop reinforces the appeal of attending the ASH annual meeting by scientists from around the world, and it can serve as an introduction to the scientific content that will be presented at the ASH annual meeting.

Workshop Objectives:

Highlight novel basic science and translational immune research in lymphoid malignancies that are likely to translate in the near future to clinically relevant therapies, biomarkers, or correlative science

Feature new methods of immune monitoring, as well as potential future therapies or therapeutic targets that are likely to be important in lymphoid malignancies

The workshop's aim is to have scientists, translational researchers, and clinicians "hear it here first" when it comes to the next big thing in the management of lymphoid diseases. This workshop will be highly interactive and somewhat speculative (though based on science), with a strong focus on future translation immune-related research into the clinic.